


How Specter of Torment should have ended (before it even began)

by An_Awning_Mouse



Category: Shovel Knight
Genre: AU, Canon Typical Violence, Donovan tries to be a badass and gets jumped and beat, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, everyone lives nobody dies, how it should have ended, retroactive fix-it fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_Awning_Mouse/pseuds/An_Awning_Mouse
Summary: Donovan and Luan attempt to raid the Tower of Fate, but end up biting off more than they can chew.......
Relationships: Donovan/Luan, Shield Knight/Shovel Knight
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	How Specter of Torment should have ended (before it even began)

**Author's Note:**

> Just made my account, and breaking it in by retroactive doling out happy endings like candy!
> 
> Aside from the whole happy ending thing, This fic goes into minor AU where Luan only gives Donovan the locket after the raid.

"...Heh." Donovan smirked as he drew his blade, the edge shining with avarice. He'd had enough bad encounters with these so-called "knights" to know just how they operate. Push the general populace away, spout off some nonsense about how dangerous the situation is, then grab all the loot for themselves. Well, not this time.

"You don't fool me." Donovan spoke, softly, yet firmly as he stared down this new adversary. "You're here to claim the power of the amulet for yourself." He turned to his partner, who was standing off to the side, fidgeting reluctantly. "Luan, would you care to do the honors?"

"J-just a second!" Luan's grizzled beard jostled slightly as he held his hands up in a defensive position. "If what she's saying is true, then...." He hesitated slightly, then continued. "Perhaps we might be a bit more cautious?"

Donovan raised his eyebrows. His son was the reason why they had undertaken this raid in the first place! With the magical power it promised, keeping the boy safe until he could defend himself would be a sure thing. And now he was willing to throw the whole thing away on the say-so of some stuck-up know-it-all?

"You would let this pompous fool tell us what we can and cannot take?" Donovan snarled toward his friend. He then turned back to the so-called "defender" blocking their way. "Who is this busybody anyway?"

His foe leaped forward with surprising agility, readying a pair of shields attached to her forearms. The dim violet candlelight seemed to magnify tenfold as it reflected off of her Crimson body armor.

"I am Shield Knight," she said, voice radiating with grim determination. "And I cannot let you pass!"

"Let's see if you can live to keep that claim!" Donovan sprung forward with the speed of a cat, blade prepared to do some dismembering.

Shield Knight stood, firmly rooted to the spot, before springing into the air, hoisting her larger shield above her head. 

"NOW!"

"What the-?" What was even the point of lugging around that glorified discus if you weren't even going to use it for the intended purpose? Donovan pondered this for a few miliseconds, then continued his charge. Ah well, if she wasn't going to take this seriously, then fine by-

Luan suddenly cried out, panic filling his normally gruff voice. "Donovan, above you!"

"Eh?"

Donovan didn't get an eyeful of his surprise attacker, only a glimpse of a cerulean blur falling towards him like a comet, brandishing the business end of some kind of weapon directly towards his skull as he fell. The blue warrior bounced off his head with skill that would make a Tadvolt jealous, propelling him further and giving Donovan one hell of a headache.

"Gkk!" Donovan clutched his head in pain, trying to get his bearings. "Damn cowards-"

Before Donovan could launch his counterattack (or at least get out some scathing insults) Shield Knight slammed her buckler into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him open to be grabbed and whirled round. The last thing Donovan ran through his mind before the tiny blue knight smacked him unconscious with his weapon was just a single question:

"Did I seriously just get humiliated by two knights wielding a shield and a shovel?"

\---------------

Shield Knight dusted off her buckler, and turned to her partner. "Thanks for the help, Shovel Knight," she said breathlessly. "I have to admit, it's pretty impressive that he took our tandem attack and was still standing. For a while, anyway."

Shovel Knight shook his head, and brushed a few shards off his trusty shovel blade. After taking care of that cloaked ruffian, he and Shield Knight had smashed the amulet, and the glass shards had gotten everywhere. "No need to thank me, Shield Knight. You had an excellent handle on the situation. Speaking of which...." He turned to Donovan and Luan, the former of which was still knocked-out. "What do we do with them? They DID try to take the amulet."

Shield Knight shook her head. "I think that they were just misinformed, that's all." She picked up Donovan by the arms and dragged him over to Luan. "Listen, I know you really want to protect your son, but it's like I said. You're better off protecting him while you can and teaching him how to take care of yourself than relying on cursed magics. Now, can you take your friend and leave this place?"

Luan nodded and sighed, lightly rubbing his temples. "Yes. I suppose you have a point. If that amulet really was as dangerous as you said, it'd probably put my boy in more danger than it would have prevented. Sorry about my partner, by the way. He always was a bit reckless, and he never cared much for knights either."

Shovel Knight tread towards the stairwell, holding his shovel blade at the ready. "Now then, what's say we take our leave of this terrible place once and for all?"

Shield Knight nodded, a grin cracking over her face. "Right beside you, partner." She turned back towards Luan as he lowered his own partner out the window that they had burst in from. "Safe travels!"

Luan nodded and called back. "Likewise!"

\------

"Zzzzzzzzzz.....alright you sons of— huh?"

Donovan woke up back at camp. Luan was tending the fire, neither the tower, the amulet, nor those knights were anywhere to be seen, and he felt like he had been slammed in the face with the business end of a smiths hammer.

"Luan-OW." Donovan swiftly raised his hand to his forehead in a vain attempt to stave of his horrid headache. "What the hell happened? And why does my head hurt so damn much?"

Luan chuckled lightly. "Sorry, it just sort of came out of the blue. You were facing down that shielded knight, and a friend of hers came along and helped her rough you up something fierce."

Donovan grumbled, crossing his arms and slouching in some attempt to dilute the shame. "That's an understatement. At least tell me what the cheating blorb nailed me with to make my head ring this bad."

"A shovel."

Utter silence.

Donovan slumped down in resignation. "Forget I asked. I'm never going to hear the end of this one...."

Luan broke into further laughter, and even Donovan could not stop himself from snickering lightly, if only to distract from the indignity of it.

"Listen... I'm sorry, Luan. We didn't get the amulet, and I almost got us taken in by two knights of Pridemoor. Now how can we protect your son?"

Luan shrugged. "Well, even aside from magical means, there is one thing we can do. Teach him everything we know, from how to talk his way out of a situation to how to throw a punch if talking isn't an option."

Donovan nodded. Sounded like a plan-

Hang on.

"We?"

"Oh, I nearly forgot."

Luan rummaged through their things, and pulled out something shiny that he tossed over to Donovan. Upon closer inspection, it was a small, heart shaped locket.

It wasn't often that Donovan found himself lost for words, but this was one of those times. "Luan, I-"

Luan interrupted him. "It's an old family keepsake. Donovan, we've been partners in crime for a few years now. You're like family to me, and.....and...."

Luan hesitated, as if unsure of how to continue, but forged on.

"And I was hoping you'd be family to Reize."

Donovan say there for a while, jaw agape behind his cloak. Admittedly, he'd grown just as close to Luan in all the time they'd spent together, from battling through traps and monsters to gain great reward, to dodging the arm of the local guardsmen. So when Donovan spoke, he knew what his answer would be.

"Luan, I would lay down my life to save his. I promise."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This was my first fic, and I'd like some honest feedback on what I can do better.


End file.
